Head-block for saw-mills



(No Model.)

T. J. REAMY.

. HEAD BLOGK 'POR SAW MILLS.

Pa ented Jan. 12, 886.

NITED STATES PATENT Fries.

THOMAS J. REAMY, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

HEAD-BLOCK FOR SAW-MILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,284, dated January12, 1886.

Application filed August 18, 1885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, THOMAS J. REAMY, 0 Nashville, in the county ofDavidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Head-Blocks for Saw- Mills; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the'invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tomake and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in head-blocks for saw-mills; andit consists in, first, the combination, with the carriage, of astationary rack-bar and a pivoted lever, which is made to connect withrack-bar at its outer end, and with an adjusting mechanism at its innerend for regulating the distance the knees shall be moved for regulatingthe thickness that the lumber is to be cut; second, the combination ofthe stationary rack-bar, a pivoted lever which engages with the rack-barand regulates the thickness of the lumber that is to be out, with anadjustable stop or cam for regulating the distance that the lever shallbe moved, and thereby automatically regulate the forward movement of theknee; third, the combination of a friction-wheel connected to amechanism which moves the knees, a movableboard or surface which is madeto operate this friction-wheel, and a dog connected indirectly withthelever, whereby the regulating mechanism can be reversed and the kneesmade to move backward; fourth, in the arrangement and combination ofparts, which will be more fully described hereinafter.

The object of my invention is to use a stationary rack-bar incontradistinction to a movable one, and to have the carriage carry thelever which moves the adjusting mechanism for the knees back and forthwith it over this rack-bar, and to limit the movement of the lever, soas to automatically regulate the thickness of the lumber that is to becut.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a head-block embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 8 is a detail view of thesetting mechanism. Fig. 4. is a perspective of the casting which carriesthe dog.

A represents the head-block, which is made Serial No. 174,696. (Nomodel.)

to move back and forth upon the rack B, in the usual manner, and O theknees, which are provided with teeth for the purpose of meshing with thepinions D on the shaft E, in the usual manner. The movement of the shaftcauses the pinion to revolve, and thusv the knees are made to move backand forth in either direction at the will of the operator. Secured tothis shaft E is a beveled pinion, F, which meshes with the horizontalbeveled gear G, which is supported in a suitable frame-work which isbolted to the timber of the carriage. Connected to this beveled gear Gis a vertical shaft, H, upon which the ratchet-wheel I is secured. Uponthe lower end of this shaft is also placed a friction-wheel, J.Suspended from this shaft H is the horizontal metallic frame L, whichcarries the pivoted dog N, and which frame L has a free pivoted movementaround the shaft, so as to carry the dog back and forth. This dog Nengages with the ratchet-wheel, and when the carriage moves forward theframe carrying the dog causes the ratchet-wheel to partially revolve,and thus cause the vertical shaft H and the beveled gear upon its upperend to partially revolve the shaft E. Pivoted upon the top of thispivoted frame L is the lever O,which has its outer end to engage withthe rack-bar l, which bar is here made stationary in contradistinctionto the usual movable one. This lever O is made to catch tween flangesformed on the edges of the'f e L, and thus cause the frame to move witit in either direction. The teeth of the rack-bar P are beveledin onedirection, so that the outer free end of thelever can slip freely overthem when the carriage is moving backward; but when the carriage beginsto move forward, the outer end of this lever catches behind one of theteeth, and then as the carriage continues its motion this lever O andframe L are made to partially revolve on the shaft H, for the purpose ofcausing the dog N to force the ratchet-wheel partially around, and thusmove the knees forward. When the carriage moves backward,the spring Q,which is connected to the lever, draws the lever backward until itstrikes against the end of the adjustable stop or cam B.

As here shown, a bent rod is used as astop, and this rod is adjustableback and forth IOO through the keepers in which it is held; but a cammay be used instead of this rod,if so desired. By moving this stop Rforward or backward the distancethe lever shall be drawn backward by thespring is regulated at will. By lessening the distance the lever shallbe moved backward the distance the frame L shall move the dog N iscorrespondingly lessened, and the greater the distance the stop is drawnbackward the greater will be the distance that the lever will be made tomove the frame L and dog N. The distance this lever is moved by thecarriage regulates the distance that the knees are moved and thethickness of the lumber that is to be out.

When the lever catches behind one of the teeth of the rack-bar, thecarriage moves on forward until the lever is moved into the position a,(shown in dotted lines,) and then the end of the lever slips off therack-bar and its end drops down along the side of the rack-bar andremains in that position until the carriage has madeits movementforward, when the lever slips up over the round end of the rack-bar, andthen is drawn back into positionagain by the spring.

When it is desired to move the knees backward, the operator moves thelever S, and through it the board or surface T, which is pivoted uponthe sills, and which board T, as it is moved forward,first strikes ahanger,U, con-- nected with the dog N, so as to throw the dog out ofcontact with the ratchet-wheel, and then the board comes in contact withthe friction-wheel J. The movement of the carriage causes thefriction-wheel J to revolve while it is in cont-act with the board T,and then the shaft E is made to move the knees back to receive a freshpiece of lumber. i

For the purpose of regulating the throw of the lever and regulating thethickness of the lumber which is to be out, there is secured to the stopR a vertical lever, V, which is pivoted in the frame or. upright "W atthe point X. The upper end of this lever has a pointer secured to it,and this pointer moves back and forth over the upper end of the frame orupright TV, which has a suitable gage' marked upon or secured to it;also, secured to this lever is a toothed segment, Y, with which engagesthe pinion Z,which is secured to the inner end of the operating-shaft.By turning this operatingshaft the pinion is made to move the v lever,and this lever in turn moves the stop,

which regulates the distance that the spring shall draw the leverbackward. By this construction the operator gages the thickness of thelumber when the carriage is first set in operation, and then there is noneed to again touch any of the mechanism until it is desired to saw thelumber of a different thickness, as the knees are automatically movedforward the desired distance by the movement of the carriage.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a head-block forsaw-mills, the combination of the stationary rack-bar placed to the rearof the carriage, a vertical shaft journaled in the carriage and having amechanism connected to its upper end for moving the knees, a framepivoted on said vertical shaft and carrying a dog to engage with aratchetwheel rigid on said shaft, and a lever pivoted on said pivotedframe to engage with the said stationary rack-bar for the purpose ofmoving the knees, substantially as shown.

2. The combination of the pivoted lever, which is connected to thesetting mechanism and carried back and forth by the carriage, a pivotedframe which is supported upon the vertical shaft and which carries andis moved by the said lever, a dog which is pivoted in the frame, theratchet-wheel which is placed upon the vertical shaft and with which thedog engages, a mechanism connected to the upper end of the verticalshaft for moving the knees, anda rack-bar which is placed to the rear ofthe carriage, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the vertical shaft, a mechanism connected to itsupper end for moving the knees to regulate the thickness of lumber beingsawed, a friction-wheel which is secured to the lower end of the shaft,and a movable bolt or surface, T,which is attached to a permanentsupport and which is operated by a hand-lever so as to be thrown in andout of contact with the friction-wheel, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the mechanism for moving the knees, the verticalshaft carrying the bevel-gear G upon its upper end, a horizontalswinging frame pivoted upon the shaft and carrying a dog provided with aprojection, a ratchet-wheel secured to the shaft and with which the dogengages, the friction-wheel which is secured to the lower end of thever- .tical shaft, the bolt T, pivoted upon a suitable support, and anoperating-lever for moving the bolt, whereby the bolt, as it is movedtoward the friction-wheel, is made first to move the dog out of contactwith the ratchetwheel and then operate the frictionwheel, substantiallyas shown and described.

5. The combination of the vertical shaft having a mechanism connected toits upper end for moving the knees, the swinging frame which is pivotedupon this shaft, the lever which is pivoted upon the top of the frameand which moves the frame horizontally around the shaft, the dog pivotedin the frame for engaging with the ratchet-wheel which is secured to thevertical shaft, a spring connected to the lever and which draws both thelever and the frame backward when they are left free to move, and asuitable stop carried by the carriage for regulating the distance thelever shall be moved backward, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the pivoted lever and the horizontal pivoted frameplaced upon the vertical shaft H, the frame carrying a dog for IISengaging with the ratchet-wheel upon the ver: tical shaft, thestationary rack-bar with which the lever engages, and a spring fordrawing the lever backward when it is left free to move, substantiallyas specified.

7. The combination of the adjustable stop which is carried back andforth by the carriage, a pivoted lever which has a horizontal movementaround the vertical shaft, a frame which is pivoted upon the verticalshaft and which carries said lever, a spring for moving the lever andframe backward, and a setting mechanism connected with the upper end ofthe vertical shaft for regulating the thickness of the lumber to besawed, and an adjusting 15 mechanism, substantially as shown, which isconnected to the stop for regulating its movement, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS J REAMY. WVitnesses:

F. A. LEHMANN, L. L. BURKET.

